When will the Photon be discontinued? Get Galaxy LTE instead?General

I'm strongly considering gettting the Photon...but may wait for Galaxy LTE this month. I'm having a hard time deciding. I'm coming from an EVO Shift, and am concerned that the jump in screen size will be too much...also, the Photon seems fine to me, and very fast.

I'm strongly considering gettting the Photon...but may wait for Galaxy LTE this month. I'm having a hard time deciding. I'm coming from an EVO Shift, and am concerned that the jump in screen size will be too much...also, the Photon seems fine to me, and very fast.

What should I do?

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If you can hold out, wait until August. By then, most of the "super phones" will have been released and you can make an easier decision. The only reason I say this is because the Photon is on the EOL (end of life) list. That could either be signs of great things to come or a sign that Sprint might not continue improving it's Motorola Android offerings (only time will tell). This is a good guessitmate of all the phone releases:

drexappeal is right, you should wait for the new batch. If you really want a new toy, don't waste an upgrade, just do what I did: sell your current phone and buy a used Photon on Craigslist. I got mine for $170, and it looks and performs like a brand new device. (Just remember to always meet any seller at a Sprint store to activate it to be sure everything is on the up and up).

drexappeal is right, you should wait for the new batch. If you really want a new toy, don't waste an upgrade, just do what I did: sell your current phone and buy a used Photon on Craigslist. I got mine for $170, and it looks and performs like a brand new device. (Just remember to always meet any seller at a Sprint store to activate it to be sure everything is on the up and up).

I'm strongly considering gettting the Photon...but may wait for Galaxy LTE this month. I'm having a hard time deciding. I'm coming from an EVO Shift, and am concerned that the jump in screen size will be too much...also, the Photon seems fine to me, and very fast.

What should I do?

Click to expand...

I too had a Shift and was due for an upgrade.

I went ahead and got a Photon as I really like it. You can dream about future devices, or get one today. There is always a better device coming out.

While the Photon is a bit on the older side, it is one of the best out there and a nice step up from the Shift. I personally like the size of the Photon. There are bigger devices out there, but they are a bit too big for me.

The biggest complaint I have is that 4G is practically useless for me. Phoenix has only a few locations that get 4G. This is not a huge issue as 3G is fast enough for me, but I would love the option.

Also, remember one big advantage the Photon has over all of the upcoming announced "superphones": it has a SIM card slot and can thus be used internationally. If you're a world traveler, that right there is a major consideration.

Also, remember one big advantage the Photon has over all of the upcoming announced "superphones": it has a SIM card slot and can thus be used internationally. If you're a world traveler, that right there is a major consideration.

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Main reason that, even if I do upgrade, I'll still be keeping the Photon (aside from the accessories just being too awesome between the car dock and lapdock alone...not even considering the HD dock which is cool too).

The hardware on the Photon is absolutely superior in every way over ANY OTHER phone offered by Sprint and arguably all the carriers combined. If you rom this Phone (and there are many choices now) it absolutely destroys everything. Stock not so much. For a dev or custom user there is no other choice.

Those specs for that Nexus look sweet but that device is still a Samsung. I know that they've gotten better with their customer support with the Galaxy II. (They couldn't have gotten worse.) I still feel so burned by that terrible piece of garbage otherwise known as the Epic 4g that when I even if I just read "Samsung" I feel a twinge of rage and disgust. So my advice might be out of whack because I have such a giant bias against anything Samsung.

I don't get my last Sprint Premier Gold upgrade until September 1st anyway so the timing for all of this is potentially perfect for me.

If Sprint doesn't come up with the goods by the end of the year, I'll gladly keep my Photon until the end of my contract. Once my contract is up, if Network Vision and LTE are a flop like Wimax was, I may have to hold my nose and jump ship entirely from Sprint, as much as I hate to do so.

I can't understand why Sprint wouldn't go for another Motorola smart phone. The quality is top notch. The customer service is top notch. The accessories are amazing.

Yes, yes, yes, I had my problems at first with the Photon. But those problems were actually resolved by Motorola and Sprint through Best Buy. I can't say the same about my experience with the Epic 4g. That phone never worked right and started to disintegrate in August after owning it for only a year.

I swore never to own a Samsung ever again and I'm sticking by it. If Sprint wants to make Samsung their premier manufacturer, as they seem to have done, and they pass on releasing another Motorola smart phone, I will have to seriously consider dumping Sprint for a carrier with more sense.

Or... if Network Vision rocks and LTE rocks on Sprint and the HTC offerings are as amazing as they seem to be, I might be persuaded to stay with Sprint. I could easily get the HTC Evo LTE if it turns out to be as good in real life as it seems to be in reviews and on paper. I have a feeling a lot will be happening from now until September 1st. It seems like this is a potentially exciting time to be a Sprint customer. It almost reminds me of last year when I had 3 awesome smart phones to consider (Photon, 3VO, or E4GT). However the phones this year seem like they might be more amazing and we have the promise of a revolution never seen on any network that just might save Sprint. Exciting times are here. Woo Hoo!

Went to Radio Shack in town to pick up some other electronic parts and noticed a sign for $30 credit minimum for any operation phone. Since I had to make another trip today I grabbed up an old Moto Q9c (yeah I know!) and they gave me $30 credit toward the $49.95 Photon price. I can say it does have a much more sensitive radio than the wife's EVO here at my house that gets 1-2 bars, I know it just an indication of strength, but the Phont is clean and clear where the EVO struggles a bit. Happy to get into it for a small amount. Son's phone will be upgrade elegible later this year so I can see what's on the market at that point and pass down the Photon to him.

Went to Radio Shack in town to pick up some other electronic parts and noticed a sign for $30 credit minimum for any operation phone. Since I had to make another trip today I grabbed up an old Moto Q9c (yeah I know!) and they gave me $30 credit toward the $49.95 Photon price. I can say it does have a much more sensitive radio than the wife's EVO here at my house that gets 1-2 bars, I know it just an indication of strength, but the Phont is clean and clear where the EVO struggles a bit. Happy to get into it for a small amount. Son's phone will be upgrade elegible later this year so I can see what's on the market at that point and pass down the Photon to him.

That's cool but, did you read about the rumor that Sprint is getting an LTE Photon this summer? Hit the link in the post above you and you find a link in Drex's post #58. I am going to wait and see what this new phone will be like.

and while there were some issues...i have to say it was a decent enough phone for the time....

and now, that its had time to digest (is it 2.3 yet??) the latest update for a while....it might be screaming...

gps still sucks

and the radio in the photon is worlds better.....

though i think the camera on the epic was better

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That's part of the reason the SGS 3 is still on the back-burner for my next upgrade I decide on. I love the MoPho still, but I'm planning on taking advantage of my final 1 year upgrade. So far, based on the phones that are being talked about, the LTEvo is still top on my list. I'm still holding out hope that Motorola offers both a qwerty and non-qwerty version of the Photon...similar to how the Droid 4 and Razr Maxx are.